Eagles in crisis mode at QB

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Matt Barkley (2) loses control of the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013 in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)

PHILADELPHIA — Michael Vick started the Eagles’ 15-7 loss to the New York Giants Sunday, left before halftime, and did not return.

Was he injured?

Or was he benched?

A little of both, evidently.

“I would have stayed out there,” he said. “But I probably wouldn’t have been that effective. At some point, we all would have realized that I was not 100 percent. So I think it was the best thing to do.”

It was one thing to do, and Chip Kelly did it, replacing Vick with Matt Barkley, with marginal results.

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Vick had completed six of nine passes for 31 yards, was sacked, was intercepted and could generate a minimum of offense, registering a 32.4 quarterback rating. Barkley had his first possession halted by an interception, completed 17 of his 26 passes for 158 yards, was sacked three times, fumbled three times, losing one.

That didn’t leave Kelly with a quarterback controversy. It left him with a quarterback crisis.

Vick acknowledged that his left hamstring was re-injured and that he will undergo an MRI Monday. Though he could this week, Nick Foles still has not completed the required NFL tests for a return from a concussion.

That leaves Barkley, who has played in the last two games and who has yet to lead a touchdown drive. And while Kelly keeps his practices private, Barkley admitted Sunday that he received very few first-team quarterback reps last week in practice --- a ratio almost certain to change as the Birds prepare this week to visit the Oakland Raiders.

“We will see how Mike bounces back,” Barkley said. “Hopefully, he heals up. I think it is valuable just to practice with those guys and see their timing and know their breaks in a full-speed environment.”

Kelly has resisted going to his third starting quarterback, but Barkley could have made that decision easier. Instead, he struggled Sunday, even losing a third-quarter fumble after the Birds had arrived at the New York five-yard line.

“I thought I played all right,” Barkley said. “I thought I made some good throws. I made some poor decisions. I think it’s the little things that I have to hunker down on from here on out. Learning and getting game experience is under my belt. It’s just something to learn from. I will probably be thinking about a couple of those plays running through my head all night long.”

In character, Kelly refused even to speculate on his quarterback rotation, insisting on first being equipped with a comprehensive medical report. He did acknowledge, though, that Barkley would be a No. 1 quarterback possibility.

“He looks good,” LeSean McCoy said. “He’s tough. He’s very smart and intelligent. He makes the right calls and reads. So he will be fine. We just have to help him out a little bit. The defense is playing its past. The offense has to do the same.”

Earlier this season, that was not a problem, the Vick-led offense able to score in Kelly’s hurry-up offense. But as the injuries accumulated, so did the troubles, as the Eagles have not scored a touchdown in their last two games.

“I don’t know where it starts,” Barkley said. “I think it’s across the board, everybody doing the little things, whether it’s a block down field or the timing of my footwork, or getting the ball out, or making a catch. It’s across the board and hopefully we can get the right practice and the right mindset this week to where the little things count and we make plays.”

First, Kelly will need to pick --- and commit to --- a quarterback.

Barkley will be ready.

Vick?

“We’ll see what it looks like compared to two weeks ago,” Vick said. “And we’ll pretty much go from there.”